Boss OD-1 Overdrive

March 15, 2017, 6:55 am

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Here's the Boss OD-1–the first of the tube screamer-type overdrives (yes, the first TS wasn't an Ibanez). It features asymmetrical clipping diodes (where a stock TS has symmetrical clipping) which gives it a thicker, more edgy sound. Initial versions of the circuit used a quad opamp, using 2 of the opamps as in the input/output buffers, but this was later replaced by the more common transistor buffers and a dual opamp to save cost and use more readily available parts back in the late 70s/early 80s.

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CultureJam NoMoJo Fuzz

March 17, 2017, 7:00 am

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This was a originally an SMD 2-in-1 board CultureJam put out. On one side was a Fuzz Face and the other this Tone Bender. So I figured they'd be good Fuzz Friday layouts. They're not on the same board, but either one should fit in a 1590A.

Barber Direct Drive

March 20, 2017, 6:53 am

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You asked for it, so here it is: the Barber Direct Drive. This layout follows the new compact version with 2 toggles–one for harmonics, the other for gain. The circuit itself is very similar to the original Tone Pump circuit with a few modifications. Should fit nicely in a 1590B.

Lovepedal Champ

March 22, 2017, 6:39 am

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Been a while since I've laid out an Electra and I came across the Champ schematic on FSB, so here you go. Should fit with a board mounted pot in a 1590A.

Way Huge Swollen Pickle Mk 2

March 24, 2017, 7:01 am

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For Fuzz Friday here's the newer and highly tweak-able Swollen Pickle from Way Huge. Like the Mk 1, originals use a MPQ3904transistor array instead of individual transistors. Couldn't make that work this time around, so just stick with individual 2N3904s. Originals also have 2 of the controls internally, but what's the fun in that? All 7 pots are for external mounting and the whole thing will fit in a 1590BB with top mounted jacks fairly easily. Here's the schematic for reference. You'll notice a few values are a 10th of typical values found in a Big Muff (indicated by an * in the layout below). Not sure if it's a typo on the schematic or just the way Way Huge did it this time around. YMMV

Hjärt Müller Bass Drive

March 27, 2017, 6:54 am

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Here's an overdrive for my fellow bass thumpers. Fairly simple opamp-based drive section with soft clipping pushing a Big Muff tone stack. Should be an easy fit for a 1590B with board mounted pots. Here's the schematic for reference.

Lovepedal Hi Volt

March 29, 2017, 6:35 am

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Today we've got the Lovepedal Hi Volt. A wide variety of tones on tap with this one. It's a cascaded JFET gain stage into an active EQ section, all powered by a 16v charge pump. Laid this out with on board pots and will fit in a 125B with top mounted jacks. Here's the schematic for reference.

Sunn Buzz SB-1G

March 31, 2017, 7:00 am

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Saw this one over on the Tagboard blog and thought I'd give it a go for Fuzz Friday. It's a silicon variation of the Maestro FZ-1. Originals use a single AA battery (1.5v), so I've included 2 voltage diving resistors to drop the the normal 9v supply down to 1.5v. (The yellow trace in the PCB side indicates the 1.5v rail.) Originals used 2N2923 transistors, but I would imagine other low gain transistors will work (hFE range on the 2923 is 90-180). Just mind the BCE pinout. Here's the schematic for reference.

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EWS Bass Mids Control

April 3, 2017, 7:05 am

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Here's another one for the bass players. It's a pretty handy EQ pedal from EWS. Originals come in a 1590a, and sadly I wasn't able to duplicate that here, but it will fit fine in a 1590B with board mounted pots. Originals have the Volume control as an internal trimmer, but I've moved that to a full sized pot for more control (and a newer version of this pedal has all 3 control externally as well, so maybe I'm on to something haha). Here's the schematic for reference.

What the Wah?

April 5, 2017, 6:32 am

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Hadn't done a wah in a while and thought I'd do project where you can build several old school wah circuits on the same board. Many of the early wahs back in the late 60s were based on the original Thomas Organ CryBaby, and as a result many of them follow the same topology with a few value changes. Here's the schematic:

A lot of the original transistors used have a BCE pinout, so I've made 2 layouts: one for BCE and one for the more common CBE pinouts. Generally speaking your just need transistors in the 300-400 hFE range, however with many circuits, different transistors offer different flavors. So as always, socket and experiment.

What the Wah? Project

Kustom K200B Harmonic Clipper

April 7, 2017, 6:39 am

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Found this over on the Tone Report Weekly and thought I'd make a PCB/perf layout for Fuzz Friday. It's based on the fuzz unit in old Kustom K200B amps and utilized by John Fogerty of CCR. The first 2 transistor stages are from the original units, with a Escobedo Duente boost at the output as a gain recovery stage. A lot of the credit for adapting the original circuit into pedal form goes to a group of cool dudes on DIYSB (pinkjimiphoton, digi2t, and a few other I'm probably forgetting) with the Suzi-Q.

Run Off Groove Ginger

April 10, 2017, 6:17 am

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The ROG Ginger is an amp emulator designed to sound like the classic Ampeg SB-12 Portaflex. So it's intended for bass, but sounds good with a guitar as well. Schematic, sound clips, and more info can be found in the ROG article. It's laid out for board mounted pots will fit easily in a 125B with top mounted jacks.

Carl Martin Crush Zone

April 12, 2017, 6:48 am

≫ Next: Spaceman Effects Gemini III Dual Fuzz Generator

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Here's an interesting distortion from Carl Martin. It's similar to an Escobedo Punch-in-the-Face between 2 opamp stages. Board mounted pots and will fit nicely in a 1590B. FSB schematic here for reference.

Spaceman Effects Gemini III Dual Fuzz Generator

April 14, 2017, 6:21 am

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This week's Fuzz Friday layout happens to be the 500th layout on the blog! So for #500 it has to be something cool, so here's a really unique fuzz from Spaceman Effects–the Gemini III Dual Fuzz Generator. As the name implies, it has 2 sides: silicon and germanium. The Blend knob pans between the 2, and each side has a 3-way gain switch. I've laid it out for board mounted pots for a 125B with top mounted jacks.

It's a good idea to experiment with the transistors, especially on the germanium side. Here's some good alternatives from digi2t who traced it over on DIYSB:

Q1: Russian MP20B (hFE: 80-85)

Q2: Russian GT404 (hFE: 120-130)

Q3: Russian GT402 (hFE: 100-115)

Q5: BC109B or 2N3700 (hFE: mid 200s)

Q7: 2N5088

Also the 1nF cap near the input apparently really needs to be a polystyrene. YMMV

Perf Board Tutorial

April 15, 2017, 7:00 am

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I thought a tutorial on how to build on perfboard would be a good addition to the blog. There are lots of ways to do it, but this video shows how I do perf builds and how the perf layouts are designed to be built. I filmed this ages ago with great intentions, but it took me a year to get it fully edited (video editing is actually my day job and I'd rather build pedals or play with my kids when I get home instead of doing more editing lol). But better late than never! Enjoy.

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Wampler Pinnacle

April 17, 2017, 6:23 am

≫ Next: Way Huge Saffron Squeeze

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Got another cascaded JFET design, this time from Wampler. Great for getting those EVH Brown Sound tones. I've added 2 trimmers for the 2 non-cascaded JFET stages to make biasing at little easier (originals use 22k resistors). Should be an easy fit in a 125B with top mounted jacks, but should also work in a 1590B with top mounted jacks (though you have to be really precise drilling those).

Way Huge Saffron Squeeze

April 19, 2017, 6:10 am

≫ Next: Black Arts Toneworks Fnord

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Here's Way Huge's take on the Ross Compressor. This is based on an original from the mid 90s that was traced over on FSB. It will fit in a 1590B with side mounted jacks or a 125B with top mounted jacks.

Black Arts Toneworks Fnord

April 21, 2017, 6:21 am

≫ Next: Run Off Groove Supreaux Deux

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Got a little Eagle excursion for Fuzz Friday. Here's the Fnord from Black Arts Toneworks. It's pretty much the same as the Escobedo Digital Octaver Fuzz with an added diode lift switch (though that's jumpered in the originals). It's a pretty gnarly fuzz with a wide range of tones. For you perfboard builders you should be able to translate this onto perf pretty easily.

Here's the schematic for reference:

Run Off Groove Supreaux Deux

April 24, 2017, 6:31 am

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Got a request to do this one again but with board mounted pots. If you don't know, it's a FET emulation of the classic Supro 16T amp. More info, schematic and demos can be found on the Run Off Groove article.

Lovepedal JTM

April 26, 2017, 6:13 am

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Got a request for this one. It's another Electra-derived overdrive, this time meant to sound like a Marshall. This should be an easy fit in a 1590A.